This invention relates to vehicles, and more particularly, to trucks adapted to carry groceries for home delivery.
The conventional method of obtaining groceries is to drive or otherwise transport oneself to a grocery store. The grocery store carries or stocks all the desired groceries. After walking through aisles and choosing the items one desires to purchase, one checks out with an employee of the grocery store and after paying for the groceries, takes the groceries home for consumption.
With the widespread use of the Internet, a new method of obtaining one""s groceries has been developed and practiced. Rather than traveling to a grocery store, one may now place a grocery order with a company over the Internet. The company will fill the order and then deliver the ordered groceries to the desired location, such as one""s residence, for example. Several companies have provided such services.
In order to cost efficiently transport the ordered groceries to the homes of the individuals or families ordering the groceries, a vehicle is needed which has adequate capacity to carry several orders of groceries. Common passenger or cargo vans have been used for this purpose prior to the present invention. However, such vans have limited capacity to carry groceries, and furthermore, do not have any means to keep items either frozen or refrigerated. Consequently, a need exists for a vehicle which is capable of transporting multiple grocery orders arranged in an orderly fashion and which has the ability to keep groceries refrigerated or frozen.
Several vehicles have been designed and utilized to transport food items which have multiple compartments which may be maintained at different temperatures in order to keep food items stored therein at the desired temperatures. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,633,714 and 4,505,126 disclose tractor trailers for use with trucks used to transport food products which have multiple compartments maintained at different temperatures. However, each of these vehicles is designed to transport bulk quantities of food products to grocery stores, as opposed to individual orders to be taken to individuals"" homes.
One method of separating different orders and efficiently transporting them for home delivery has been to place individual orders into totes and store the totes on racks placed inside the vehicle compartments. However, during transport the totes may shift and move, potentially damaging the inside of the truck, the food items stored in the totes or the totes themselves.
Therefore, it has been one objective of the present invention to provide a compartmentalized vehicle which is able to safely transport groceries placed in totes and maintains the groceries at either room temperature, a temperature below freezing or a temperature slightly above freezing.
Further, it has been an objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle which is able to safely and efficiently store multiple totes, each tote being filled with groceries.
Further, it has been an objective of the present invention to provide a vehicle which may be quickly and easily loaded and unloaded by the driver of the vehicle from the curb or passenger side of the vehicle.
The present invention comprises a vehicle adapted to store and transport groceries for home delivery. The vehicle may comprise a chassis supported by wheels driven by an engine located in a front cab of the vehicle, as is conventional. A storage unit is supported by the chassis behind the front cab. The storage unit functions to store groceries at an appropriate temperature so they do not spoil while they are being transported by the vehicle.
The storage unit is divided into multiple compartments maintained at different desired temperatures by insulated dividers. Each compartment has a tote rack built therein which is sized so as to hold and support a specific number of totes filled with grocery orders. Each tote is able to hold a predetermined volume of groceries. However, containers of different sizes and configurations may be used in accordance with the present invention.
One of the compartments of the storage unit is a freezer compartment. The interior of this compartment is maintained at a temperature below freezing temperature (at approximately xe2x88x925 degrees Fahrenheit). Another compartment, a refrigerated compartment, keeps items cool (at approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit) although not frozen. The freezer and refrigerated compartments each have an insulated lockable entry door mounted on the passenger side of the storage unit which may be opened by an individual standing on the ground beside the vehicle. In each of the two preferred embodiments of the present invention, the freezer and refrigerated compartments may be approximately the same size. However, different sizes, configurations and orientations may be used in accordance with the present invention.
The storage unit of the vehicle further comprises at least one dry goods compartment which is at ambient temperature. Each of the dry goods compartments has at least one lockable entry or access door which is preferably on the passenger side of the storage unit but may be on either side of the storage unit. Each of these entry doors is preferably a roll-up door, as is commonly used in delivery trucks. However, any type of door may be used. Like the refrigerator and freezer compartments, each of the dry goods compartments has at least one tote rack therein, adapted to store multiple delivery totes, each tote being filled with a delivery order.
The storage unit of the vehicle can include at least one belly box located underneath the compartments described hereinabove. Each belly box is adapted to store additional groceries at room or ambient temperature, such as bags of dog or cat food. However, it is within the contemplation of the present invention that the interior of each belly box be maintained at a temperature slightly above freezing temperature (refrigerated) or maintained at a temperature below freezing temperature. Each belly box has a lockable, side-mounted entry door on the passenger side of the vehicle to allow access to the interior of the belly box. When opened, the entry door of each belly box is able to support the weight of the vehicle""s driver and therefor may be used as a step or foot stool by the vehicle""s driver to reach totes located inside the interiors of the various compartments. Other types of doors may also be used in accordance with the present invention.
The storage unit of the vehicle may be advantageously designed with all the entry or access doors to all compartments being located on the passenger side of the vehicle. This design enables the vehicle""s driver to safely unload totes filled with grocery orders without having to be concerned with traffic. The vehicle""s driver need not waste time waiting for traffic to pass before unloading an order. Although, it is preferable that the entry or access doors to all compartments be located on the passenger side of the vehicle, it is within the contemplation of the present invention that the entry or access doors to the various compartments including the belly boxes be located either side of the vehicle.
The rear of the vehicle has no doors, but is specifically configured to store a two-wheeled cart for purposes of transporting the totes full of groceries once they are unloaded from the vehicle. Any type of cart may be secured to the rear of the vehicle to aid the driver in unloading and transporting the grocery orders.
The invention presently contemplates two different embodiments or versions of vehicle although other versions are possible as well. In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a condenser/compressor unit (otherwise known as a refrigeration unit) is mounted partially on top of the vehicle""s roof generally above the refrigerator compartment and functions to cool the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartments. One refrigeration unit which has proven satisfactory is manufactured by Thermo King Corporation and sold as model V-200 Max. This refrigeration unit utilizes one compressor powered by the vehicle""s engine and another powered by an electric motor and located in a roof unit. The refrigeration unit further comprises two evaporator units: one is located in the freezer compartment, and the other is located in the refrigerator compartment. When the truck is moving, the vehicle""s engine drives one of the compressors which powers the evaporators to keep the refrigerated and freezer compartments cold. When the truck is stopped and the engine is not running, for example, when the truck is being loaded, the refrigeration unit is plugged into a power source at the store in order to power the electric motor located in the roof unit to drive the second compressor, thereby keeping the evaporators running and the compartments cool. In this embodiment, the dry goods compartment is located in front of the freezer and refrigerated compartments.
In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the freezer and refrigerated compartments of the storage unit are not cooled by evaporators located therein, but rather are cooled by a eutectic refrigeration system including cold plates mounted on the walls or ceilings of the compartments. A compressor/condenser or refrigeration unit is mounted underneath the freezer and storage compartments and electrically plugged into a source of power. This type of refrigeration is referred to in the industry as xe2x80x9ceutecticxe2x80x9d refrigeration or xe2x80x9cplug-in onlyxe2x80x9d. In this embodiment of the present invention, for proper weight distribution, the freezer and refrigerator compartments may be located in front of the dry goods compartment. The eutectic refrigeration system includes at least one cold plate mounted in the freezer compartment to maintain the freezer compartment at a temperature below freezing temperature and at least one cold plate mounted in the refrigerated compartment to maintain the refrigerated compartment at a temperature slightly above freezing temperature. It will be appreciated that other types of refrigeration systems may be used as well.
These and other objects and advantages will be more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings.